Armed Forces: Council Tax

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty's Government, with reference to pages 32-3 of The Armed Forces Covenant: Today and Tomorrow, whether the council tax relief applied to England, Scotland and Wales will also apply to housing rates in Northern Ireland.

Lord Astor of Hever: Yes. The Ministry of Defence council tax relief scheme is not a new scheme, and already applies to personnel with property in Northern Ireland under the same terms as those in England, Scotland and Wales.

Armed Forces: Missiles

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to replenish stocks of (a) Tomahawk Land Attack missiles, and (b) Storm Shadow missiles.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Ministry of Defence has no plans to replenish stocks of Storm Shadow missiles, as there are sufficient stock holdings to meet anticipated requirements for current and contingent operations. However, as is normal practice, the position will be kept under review to ensure continuing security of supply. The position on the replenishment of Tomahawk Land Attack missiles is currently under review.

Bahrain

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received evidence of intimidation against Bahrainis in the United Kingdom, or of threats against their families at home.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government are aware of allegations about the Bahraini Government's actions towards some Bahraini students studying in the United Kingdom. These are of great concern. Our ambassador in Bahrain raised the issue with the Bahraini Minister of Justice on 4 May saying it was wrong for students to be punished for exercising a right to peaceful demonstration, recognised by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We urge the Government of Bahrain to meet all their human rights obligations and uphold political freedoms, equal access to justice and the rule of law.

Bank of England

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the proposed Financial Policy Committee of the Bank of England, or a significant part of that committee, has met formally or informally; and, if so, when.

Lord Sassoon: The interim Financial Policy Committee (iFPC) met for an informal dinner on Tuesday 1 March 2011. The iFPC held preparatory meetings last week in advance of its first formal meeting on 16 June 2011.

Banking

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 10 May (WA 185) about the vetting of senior bank officials, whether they are informed if the negotiator from a foreign country has cleared someone to work in a bank in the United Kingdom; and what checks they make of the standards required by foreign countries.

Lord Sassoon: As part of its approvals process, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) assesses the fitness and propriety of senior management exercising significant influence within the firms it regulates.
	In the case of a non-European Economic Area (EEA) bank operating branches in the UK, the FSA will assess whether the firm's senior management exercising significant influence over the branch are fit and proper persons.
	In the case of incoming EEA firms, it is the responsibility of the home state regulator to ensure the firm's senior management are fit and proper persons, in line with the requirements of European law. Unless the home state has reason to doubt the administrative structure or financial situation of the firm taking into account the activities envisaged, it should allow the firm to establish its branch.

Banking: Iceland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 26 April (WA 112), how much money deposited in Landsbanki was not reclaimed before the deadline of 30 October 2009 for repaying deposits of over £50,000; how many depositors were involved; whether HM Treasury will put in place a deadline for reclaiming all such deposits from failed Icelandic banks; and whether they will instruct the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to change its rules governing payouts for lesser amounts and put in place a deadline for further claims.

Lord Sassoon: According to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) a total of £3,108,532.87 was not reclaimed from Icesave accounts before the deadline for claims of 30 October 2009. This involved all amounts under and over £50,000. 2,010 depositors were involved.
	A deadline of 30 October 2009 was put in place for depositors with Icesave accounts because, as the UK branch of Landsbanki Islands hf, Icelandic law applies to the winding up of the bank.
	Icelandic law requires that all creditors must have submitted their claims against Landsbanki no later than 30 October 2009. Claims not registered by this date were extinguished. In addition, under the Financial Services Authority's rules, an eligible claimant cannot claim against the FSCS if the FSCS is unable to lodge a claim against the failed institution. Accordingly, the FSCS must reject an application for compensation if the liability of the relevant person (in this case, Landsbanki) to that depositor has been extinguished by law.
	Conversely, Heritable and Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander were UK subsidiaries of Icelandic Banks. The administration of these banks is therefore governed by UK law, under which an equivalent deadline does not exist. Therefore, there is not the same requirement to place a deadline for depositors to claim compensation for the money they had deposited with the banks.
	The FSCS is independent of the Government. Payment of compensation for amounts up to f50,000 is a matter for the FSCS. Under the rules covering FSCS payouts, the FSCS will continue to pay compensation provided that the relevant bank in question owes a legal liability to its customer.

Commonwealth Countries: Females

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the Royal Commonwealth Society and Plan UK's report Because You're a Girl: Growing Up in the Commonwealth.

Baroness Verma: We welcome the Royal Commonwealth Society and Plan UK's report Because You're a Girl: Growing Up in the Commonwealth.
	The coalition Government are committed to tackling gender equality and supporting girls and women in the Commonwealth. On International Women's Day 8 March 2011, the Department for International Development (DfID) launched a new Strategic Vision for Girls and Women. This sets out how we will achieve real change in the lives of girls and women in the countries where we work, of which half are Commonwealth member states.
	DFID's Strategic Vision complements the focus and findings of Plan UK's report, for example on the importance of investing in adolescent girls to achieve transformative benefits for future generations.

Egypt

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of whether there is state discrimination against Coptic Christians in Egypt; and, if so, what are their conclusions.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Egyptian Constitutional Declaration of 30 March 2011 provides for freedom of belief, opinion and expression. However, Christians face discrimination through the implementation of laws on the building of places of worship.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks), Mr Hague, raised his concerns about the dangers of sectarianism and extremism in Egypt in his meetings with the Head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Field Marshal Tantawi, and the Egyptian Prime Minister when he visited Egypt on 1-2 May 2011. The Egyptian Government have shown their intention to punish those who incite sectarianism by announcing plans on 8 May 2011, following violence between Salafi Muslims and Coptic Christians, for new laws to criminalise attempts to jeopardise the freedom of faith and attacks on places of worship, and banning protests around such sites. The Government have also announced that it will draft a new Unified Law on the construction of places of worship which is to be equal for both Copts and Muslims.
	We will continue to urge the Egyptian Government to establish the conditions for pluralist and non-sectarian politics, and to establish policies such as the new Unified Law which prevent discrimination on the basis of religion.

Energy: Carbon Budgets

Lord Donoughue: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following their announcement of carbon emissions targets, what is the estimated number of job losses that will result over the relevant time periods in the United Kingdom if these targets are achieved, without including any hypothetical job creations from new "green energy".

Lord Marland: By setting clear and ambitious carbon budgets the Government are demonstrating their desire to drive the changes needed to turn the UK into a dynamic, low-carbon economy that is attractive to investors in the new and growing low carbon sectors.
	Carbon budgets, and associated policies, have prompted the growth of particular sectors of the economy. This has resulted in expansion of jobs in, for example, retro-fitting buildings to be more energy-efficient and in constructing new infrastructure for waste management. Not all of these jobs will be additional-some will be existing employees adapting their work and others will be people switching jobs as green businesses expand. Moreover, these jobs will need to be offset against reductions in employment in other sectors facing a reduction in output.
	Government have not estimated the impact of carbon budgets on employment levels in the economy, or jobs in specific sectors. OECD forecasts suggest that the change in the sectoral composition of employment induced by carbon emissions reductions up to 2030 will affect less than 1 per cent of all jobs in the OECD area1, and so is relatively small compared to the typical churn in labour markets.
	1 OECD (2011), Labour markets in the transition to green growth: challenges and policy responses

Energy: Carbon Reduction

Lord Donoughue: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the financial costs to the United Kingdom economy, including the cost to consumers, of published carbon emissions targets over the periods stated.

Lord Marland: Evidence on the net costs and benefits of the economy wide package of policies and proposals to deliver the first three legislated carbon budgets (2008-22) and EU commitments (reflecting a 34 per cent cut in emissions on 1990 levels by 2020) was published in July 2009.
	This estimated that the net costs of the package of policies was £25-29 billion over the lifetime of the policies. These costs reflect technology costs, fuel savings and wider impacts (such as air quality and congestion impacts) where possible to value them. The macroeconomic cost associated with the package of policies was estimated of the magnitude of a GDP reduction of around 0.35 per cent in 2020 (relative to a baseline which does not reflect any economic costs of inaction on climate change).
	Since various individual impact assessments which estimate the net costs and benefits of individual policies have been produced for new policy initiatives, for example to support the Energy Bill, and an impact assessment on the Electricity Market Reform.
	DECC's assessment of the impact of energy and climate change policies on gas and electricity prices and bills was published alongside the annual energy statement in July 2010 with a commitment to publish updated analysis each year.
	The headlines messages were that energy and climate change policies would:
	add 1 per cent to the average household energy bill in 2020 compared with a bill in 2020 in the absence of these policies; andadd 26 per cent to the average medium-sized non-domestic user's energy bill in 2020 compared with a bill in 2020 in the absence of these policies.
	Since July 2010, the Government have announced plans to fund the renewable heat incentive and carbon capture and storage demonstrations through general taxation rather than a levy on energy prices, which will reduce these impacts. The Government also announced the introduction of a carbon price floor and plans to reform the electricity market, price and bill impacts for which were estimated in their respective impact assessments.
	Government recently announced their proposal to legislate a fourth carbon budget level of 1950 MtCO2e over 2023-7 and are determined to meet this carbon budget in a way that ensures the most cost effective pathway to our long-term 2050 target to reduce emissions by at least 80 per cent from 1990 levels.
	The overall costs to the economy and the impact on households and business will depend on how Government plan to deliver the fourth carbon budget and what policy instruments are in place.
	The CCC estimates costs of the order of 1 per cent of GDP or £13.5 billion a year by 2025 based on their modelling and their suggested mix of technologies to deliver emissions reductions to meet the 1950 MtCO2e fourth carbon budget level through domestic action.
	Government estimate of the net cost and benefits over 2023-7 range from a cost of at least £1.9 billion if the budget is met with trading, rising to at least £7 billion if the budget is met wholly through domestic abatement. These costs reflect the marginal cost of meeting the fourth carbon budget over the five year period only, given technology abatement costs, operating costs and fuel savings, together with other wider impacts. They do not reflect a full assessment over the lifetime of as policy, and do not reflect a full assessment of policy costs, macroeconomic costs or distributional implications from the additional effort required to meet the fourth budget nor current policies. More detail will be available in the impact assessment published this week.
	Government will publish further detail on policies and proposals to deliver the fourth carbon budget in October, and this will include an assessment of the policy costs. They will also provide a re-assessment of the overall costs of the package of policies and measures to deliver carbon budgets.
	Costs of climate change mitigation need to be compared against the costs of inaction. The Stem review found that the negative impact of climate change could be equivalent to a fall in global per capita consumption of 5-20 per cent now and forever. This is as a result of adaptation costs (such as increased heating and cooling bills, and flood defences) and impacts which cannot be adapted to (such as health impacts and increased flood damages).

Energy: Generation

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in their non-fossil energy investment, what consideration is being given to comparing the acceptability to communities of generation systems which are closer to centres of population and energy use and which have less environmental impact caused by overhead power cables with the acceptability of distant energy systems involving greater impact of overhead cables.

Lord Marland: The statutory duties in the Electricity Act and the requirements of planning legislation are the essential frameworks that test the acceptability of proposals for overhead power lines. These arrangements require electricity network companies to strike a balance that enables necessary development to proceed whilst ensuring adequate mitigation of environmental impacts. It will be for the relevant planning authorities to assess each electricity connection scheme on a case by case basis, depending on the specific local circumstances. This will include taking account of consultations with, and representations from, communities affected by those developments.

Energy: Wind Power

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in their plans for increased onshore wind power, what proportion of the schemes will have significant investment by local communities; and whether this is widely published.

Lord Marland: The Government expect the majority of onshore wind will be brought forward by developers, though there are already community investments in such schemes for example the Earlsburn Wind Farm in Stirling. Community-led developments are also coming forward, for example the Westmill Wind Farm Co-op in Oxfordshire.
	The Government are keen to realise the potential for community investment, and are supporting it through measures such as the feed-in tariff for small scale low-carbon electricity generation and neighbourhood development orders proposed in the Localism Bill.
	Community Energy Online provides support to communities and local authorities developing local renewable energy schemes. This includes onshore wind projects.
	As part of the development of Community Energy Online we have talked with stakeholders and EnergyShare are in the process of developing a map of community energy schemes. This is available on their website and includes wind projects. DECC has no plans to duplicate this work.

Energy: Wind Power

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in their investment in onshore wind power, what consideration is being given to smaller schemes with less environmental impact and which benefit from less interference between wind turbines.

Lord Marland: Onshore wind stations greater than 50kw are eligible for the renewables obligation and currently receive 1ROC per MWh. Those with an installed capacity of less than 5MW are also eligible for support under the feed-in tariffs (FITs) scheme which is aimed at encouraging the uptake of small scale, low-carbon electricity generation.
	As such, public investment supports the development of both large and small scale windfarms. The Government believe onshore wind farms should be sited appropriately irrespective of size.

EU: Bail-outs

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions took place between the then Chancellor of the Exchequer and the then shadow Chancellor on 10 May 2010 regarding bail-outs of Eurozone countries; whether agreement was reached on the then Chancellor's decision; what details were published; and whether there was a written ministerial instruction to HM Treasury's departmental accounting officer on this issue.

Lord Sassoon: The European Financial Stability Mechanism was created following agreement by a qualified majority of member states at the ECOFIN meeting on 9 May 2010. The meeting took place before the formation of the coalition Government and was attended by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling MP, who consulted opposition parties.
	The current Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP, cautioned against committing the UK to proposals that would have a lasting effect on the UK's public finances. However, he made it clear that, given that Mr Darling was still Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was for him to reach decisions. Both the Chancellor and Mr Darling have provided written evidence on this to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee.
	All contact between the Treasury and the opposition parties followed the agreed Cabinet Office guidelines for the 2010 general election. There was no ministerial direction to the Accounting Officer on this issue.

EU: Budget

Lord Inglewood: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the United Kingdom's proposed contribution to the European Union budget currently under consideration is caused by fluctuations in the exchange rate of the British pound against the euro.

Lord Sassoon: Because of the many elements affecting the UK's contributions, the impact of the exchange rate cannot be singled out from other impacts on the forecast, captured in the latest publication of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
	In general, the exchange rate affects the sterling value of UK's contributions to the EU budget, as well as the UK's receipts. An appreciation/depreciation of sterling would reduce/increase the value both of the UK's contributions, measured in pounds, and of the value of the UK's receipts, measured in pounds.
	This Government have been clear that they want to see real budgetary restraint in the EU over the coming years, as well as the longer term, and is working with other member states to deliver the best possible outcome for UK taxpayers in future negotiations.

EU: Financial Support

Lord Davies of Stamford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the total external public liabilities of (a) Greece, (b) Portugal, and (c) the Republic of Ireland; and what proportion of those liabilities is held by investors or lenders in (a) the rest of the European Union as a whole, and (b) the United Kingdom.

Lord Sassoon: Data on external public liabilities are available on the Quarterly External Debt Statistics database, which is jointly produced by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Bank for International Settlements. Data on the holders of public debt are published by national public debt management agencies. The Bank for International Settlements also publishes data on European banks' holdings of public and private sector debt. These data can be found at the following websites:
	Quarterly External Debt Statistics database at http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/DT.DOD. DPPG. CD/countries; andBank for International Settlements at www.bis.org.

Finance: Credit Rating Agencies

Lord Whitty: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the accuracy of the three credit rating agencies, Standard and Poor's, Fitch and Moody's, in respect of both sovereign and corporate debt.

Lord Sassoon: Credit rating agencies (CRAs) carry out a valuable role in the international financial system by providing the market with assessments of credit quality. The provision of this service is crucial to helping investors assess the quality of the assets they buy.
	The financial crisis highlighted some concerns over the reliability of CRA ratings. These concerns primarily relate to specific forms of structured credit, an area where much reform has been achieved under European Regulation EC 1060/2009 (also known as CRA1). Typically, and even through the crisis, CRAs are considered to have offered reasonably good estimates of credit quality among corporate and sovereign issuers.
	An additional source of instability associated with ratings pertained to the mechanistic reliance on CRAs by the market and to the lack of transparency. Both of these areas, alongside ways to promote competition, are priorities for further reform. This reform is being taken forward in Europe through CRA 3 (a further regulatory package); the European Commission is expected to issue legislative proposals later in the year.

Forced Marriage

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will conduct a further review of the operation of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 by the end of this calendar year, and publish the results.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the Forced Marriage Designated Resource Manual.

Lord McNally: The Government are currently considering all the recommendations of the recently published House of Commons Home Affairs Committee report on forced marriage and will publish their response in due course.
	A review of the initial impact of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act was carried out in 2009. Officials met with, or received written comments from, over 70 people. The findings of the review were published that year in the policy paper One Year On: The Initial Impact of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 in its First Year of Operation.
	The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 Designated Courts Resource Manual was published on the HMCTS intranet in July 2010. The guidance is intended as a resource manual for court staff, especially those at the 15 designated county courts and the High Court who handle applications for Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPO).
	Since the guidance included reference to in court security measures on the handling of FMPO applications and in house safety measures, it was not published externally as this might pose a risk to victims and court staff if such information reached respondents, many of whom go to great lengths to locate the applicants.

Government: Ministerial Visits

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government when was the last time a Minister visited Nauru.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no records of a Foreign Office Minister visiting either Nauru or Tuvalu. Lord Howell was, however, able to meet a representative from Nauru when he attended the Pacific Island Forum in Vanuatu last August, but unfortunately was unable to meet a representative from Tuvalu.

House of Lords: Life Peers

Lord Jopling: To ask the Leader of the House what was the average length of service in the House of Lords of all life Peers who have either died or taken leave of absence during the past five years.

Lord Strathclyde: The average length of service of all life Peers who have died in the past five years is 19 years and six months, not including any periods they spent on leave of absence. The average length of service of all life Peers who are currently on leave of absence is 21 years and six months, not including the current and any previous periods spent on leave of absence.

India

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following India's decision to ratify the United Nations protocol on human trafficking, whether they expect the protocol to be enforced effectively.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We warmly welcome the recent announcement that the Government of India has ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its three protocols, including the protocol on human trafficking. We hope that this will provide additional momentum to the Government of India's efforts to fight human trafficking and to ensure that the provisions of the protocol are enforced effectively.
	We support co-operation between UK and Indian enforcement agencies in a range of areas and will continue to engage the Indian Authorities on measures to combat human trafficking and illegal immigration, including offering UK experience and expertise where appropriate.
	The Government are committed to working with international partners to address the problem of human trafficking. The issue was raised with the Government of India at the last EU-India Human Rights dialogue, held on 22 March 2011. The EU is currently funding three major anti-trafficking projects in India (and neighbouring countries) with local partners through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights. Our High Commission in New Delhi is involved in a pilot project to improve the exchange of information between agencies dealing with the prevention of trafficking and the rehabilitation of victims of commercial sexual exploitation in India. And the Department for International Development is currently developing a new regional programme aiming to reduce human trafficking across the South Asia region, including in India.

Libya

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that the Government of Libya has lost financial revenues as a result of the passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK has taken the lead in international efforts to impose and implement financial sanctions on the Gaddafi regime. We and our EU partners have implemented the sanctions elements of UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973 through EU Regulations 204, 233, 272, 288, 296 and 360, which have steadily extended and updated the range of regime-linked individuals and entities subject to asset freezes. On 11 March 2011 the UN also established a Sanctions Committee to monitor the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1970, chaired by Portugal. We are offering guidance and support to the Sanctions Committee. The targeted sanctions imposed under these UN Resolutions have squeezed the regime financially, making it harder for Colonel Gaddafi and his associates to fuel the war further.

National DNA Database

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Browning on 18 May (WA 349) concerning information on convictions obtained using DNA evidence, how this information is held.

Baroness Browning: Records are not centrally held for the number of convictions obtained using DNA evidence.
	The National DNA Database (NDNAD) holds records of matches, ie DNA matches between material left at the crime scene and a person with a profile on the NDNAD. The match gives the police an intelligence lead on the possible identity of the offender, as there could be an innocent reason for a person having been at a crime scene.
	Records of how the police make use of these DNA matches to develop evidence to be presented in court are held on case files, locally by police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service. If a person is to be charged on the basis of a DNA match, the CPS requires that there must be supporting non-DNA evidence available to be used in evidence. No one is ever prosecuted solely on the basis of a DNA match; the DNA evidence is one piece of the information that the courts would require for a successful prosecution.
	Information is however collected centrally on the number of DNA detections, based on quarterly questionnaires completed by forces. These are crimes with a match which were detected (in broad terms, cleared up by the police).
	However, we cannot say whether the DNA match was the key factor which led to the offender being detected, as there may also have been other types of evidence in the case. Information on the number of DNA detections is provided in National DNA Database annual reports, which are published on the National Police Improvement Agency website,

Poverty

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any international development funding is provided to support science and technologies in the United Kingdom in order to maximise their potential contribution to relieving global poverty.

Baroness Verma: The legal basis for our work is the International Development Act (2002). This requires us to make sure that aid is likely to contribute to reducing poverty and under the act our aid is not tied to British goods and services. British organisations are, however, eligible to bid for the funding we provide and in 2009-10, the last year for which figures are available, 44 per cent of the Department for International Development's (DfID's) central research funds were awarded to UK institutions.

Prisons: Deaths in Custody

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman on the death of Mr Christopher Wardally in Wandsworth Prison on 12 June 2009; and why that report has not been published.

Lord McNally: The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has finalised its report into the death of Mr Wardally and, in line with its usual practice, has issued the report to interested persons. This will normally include the deceased's family, the services in remit, the primary care trust and the coroner. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) responded to the PPO's report and recommendations, at the draft report stage. These comments, where relevant, have been incorporated by the PPO into the final report.
	Deaths in custody require a jury inquest and, to avoid hindering the coroner or potentially prejudicing a jury, the PPO does not publish its reports until the inquest has concluded. The report is then published in an anonymised form on the PPO's website. The PPO has indicated that it will publish its report into the death of Mr Wardally, in this way, following the conclusion of the inquest into his death.

Public Libraries

Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to revise the current legislation relating to the provision of library services by local authorities.

Baroness Rawlings: No. We do not have any plans to revise the Public Libraries & Museums Act 1964. We believe the statutory duty on local authorities to provide library services performs an important function.

Roads: Byways Open to All Traffic

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Browning on 17 May (WA 320), whether the police have powers over Byways Open to All Traffic; and whether they can take action against those abusing the byways.

Baroness Browning: It is an offence under Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or place. It is an offence under Section 34 of that Act to drive a vehicle off-road without lawful authority. The police enforce these offences as they consider appropriate. In addition, where a constable in uniform reasonably believes a person is committing one of the offences and doing so in a way that causes or is likely to cause alarm, distress or annoyance and the person does not cease the behaviour after a warning has been issued, the constable has a power under Section 59, Police Reform Act 2002 to seize and remove the vehicle immediately. The police then have to release the vehicle only on/payment of prescribed charges for its removal and storage.

Syria

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of access to the city of Dera'a for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Baroness Verma: We are maintaining close contact with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on the implications of events in Syria for their operations.
	On 9 May UNWRA announced that events in Syria had forced it to suspend or limit services in a number of areas across the country, in particular to the 30,000 Palestinian refugees in and around the city of Dera'a. An UNRWA Relief and Social Service team gained access to Dera'a on 16 May. UNRWA have since reported to the Department for International Development (DfID) that all UNRWA's facilities in Dera'a are open again, but that the situation in the city remains tense.
	The Government remain greatly concerned about the situation in Dera'a. We urge Syria to put an immediate end to violence and grant full access to all humanitarian agencies to Dera'a and other affected areas.

Tanzania

Lord Krebs: To ask Her Majesty's Government what contribution they make to road infrastructure development in Tanzania through the European Development Fund.

Baroness Verma: The UK provides approximately 15 per cent of the total European Development Fund (EDF), which is allocated to the European Commission's aid programmes for 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). In Tanzania, the European Commission funds a €139 million (approximately £122 million) programme on road infrastructure development for 2009-10-2014-15. The UK share is 15 per cent of that, which is approximately €20.8 million (£18.3 million).
	The European Commission has been involved in the transport sector in Tanzania for many years, and has actively contributed towards improving the road network through the financing of a large number of road rehabilitation and upgrading projects and through institutional reforms. European Commission projects all support the development of the Central Development Corridor, linking the North-West and Central regions of the country with Dar es Salaam and its Indian Ocean harbour.
	Further details on European Commission's involvement in road infrastructure in Tanzania can be found on: www.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/acp/country-co-operation/tanzania/tanzania en.htm.

Taxation: VAT

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much VAT was collected from Northern Ireland Inland Revenue registered companies in each of the past three financial years.

Lord Sassoon: Information on VAT collected from VAT registered businesses in Northern Ireland is not available. Although HM Revenue and Customs holds data on the registered addresses of businesses, these do not necessarily include the location from which the business operates. For example, the registered address may be the head office of a business with branches throughout the UK.

Uganda

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how the £6 million committed between 2007 and 2012 to support the Deepening Democracy Programme in Uganda has been spent, in particular the 60 per cent allocated to supporting the elections in February 2011.

Baroness Verma: The goal of the Deepening Democracy Programme is to contribute to improved democratic governance in Uganda by increasing informed, active, pluralistic participation of Ugandan citizens in the political process; building the capacity of Ugandan institutions critical to promoting public participation; and holding the state accountable to citizens' needs and concerns. In order to achieve this, the programme has supported a number of state and non-state institutions, as shown in the table below.
	
		
			 Organisational type Expenditure through these partners as % of project total 
			 Civil Society Organisations 48% 
			 Electoral Commission 16% 
			 Media Organisations 15% 
			 Political Parties 11% 
			 Parliament 7% 
			 Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) 3% 
		
	
	Annual reviews have indicated good progress towards achieving the programme's goal. The Afro-barometer survey conducted in January 2011 found increased approval among Ugandans of the Electoral Commission (an increase of 47 per cent in 2010 to 51 per cent in 2011). There was continued stability for the most part and opening of space for citizens' engagement during the 2010-11 reporting period. The European Union Electoral Observer Mission (EU EOM) report also found that the 2011 elections showed some improvements over the previous elections held in 2006. An end of project evaluation will be carried out from July to August 2011 and a final report will be available in September 2011.

Warm Front Scheme

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications for Warm Front grants have been assessed as being eligible but have not received grants in the 2010-11 financial year.

Lord Marland: 127,930 households were surveyed and deemed eligible in 2010-11. Of these of 13,496 applications were not closed in 2010-11. Most1 of these will receive measures in 2011-12.
	1 Some of these applications will be cancelled by the client, others will be on hold for various reasons, including those awaiting client contributions, gas connections or other customer circumstances.

Water Management: Overseas

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what priority they give to water resources and their equitable distribution, in developing their strategy for overseas stability.

Baroness Verma: The work to develop a UK strategy for building stability overseas has identified resource scarcity as a potential driver of conflict and instability. The Department for International Development (DfID) is already supporting efforts to enable poor people to share the benefits of natural resources and environmental assets such as air, water, forests and energy, and improving access to environmental services.
	Trans-boundary collaboration on water management issues has the potential to reduce drivers of regional political tension. As part of the UK's work on water resources, the Government are providing funding to trans-boundary water initiatives in Africa and Asia, including the South Asia Water Initiative.

Zimbabwe

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the United Kingdom is contributing annually to Zimbabwe; what is the purpose of this funding, and what oversight and accountability is being achieved.

Baroness Verma: All of the Department for International Development's (DfID's) funds are channelled through trusted partners such as the United Nations, non-government organisations and the private sector, that have robust monitoring and financial accounting systems to ensure aid reaches its intended recipients. None of the resources are channelled through the Government of Zimbabwe. For 2011-12, DfID has development funding of £80 million which will be directed towards provision of basic services like health and education and supporting the livelihoods of the poorest Zimbabweans.